1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fused, tufted constructions wherein synthetic filament tufts are fused at a non-working end and integrally attached to a base. In particular this invention relates to an article and method of preparation wherein said tufted constructions are formed of relatively thin walled hollow articles wherein the walls are subject to deformation by the heat of fusing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of brushware articles and methods for their manufacture have been described in the prior art. Traditionally, brushware constructions have tufts which are wire-set, anchor-set, staple-set, twisted in wire, and resin set, and include both natural and synthetic filament tufts.
The method of preparing tufted constructions wherein synthetic filament tufts are fused onto a synthetic support, and articles using such techniques are described in my of my U.S. patents, assigned to the assignee of this invention. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,604,043; 4,189,189; 4,291,431; 4,348,060; 4,690,277 and 4,693,519 are exemplary and are hereby incorporated by reference. These patents disclose tufted fused brush and mat like devices wherein synthetic filament tufts are fused to molded base sections of synthetic material.
In my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 08/540,504, filed Oct. 10, 1995, there is described the preparation of a tufted construction wherein the material of the base or brush block when heated, deforms and warps when cooling. The process wherein a heated brush block receives a fused tuft end for mounting then without more, produces a warped working surface for the tufted construction. That application describes pre-configuring the brush block to take into consideration the fact that it deforms when it heats, and warps when it cools so that the resulting article is a tufted construction wherein the working ends of the tufts lie in a predetermined configuration to maximize the scrubbing power so that all tuft ends encounter a surface to be cleaned simultaneously.
As noted in that application the fusing process causes an originally flat brushware block to take a first curvature when heated and upon cooling causes the block to warp beyond that original profile to a second curvature without outside intervention. Obviously, a warped brush block would not be desirable in that it would require a trimming step for the working ends of the filament tufts or, a second heating action on the opposite side of the brush block in a attempt to cause it to reorient its molecular structure. This latter procedure could produce the desired article without trimming.
These procedures however are not available when tufts are fused onto a relatively thin walled surface such as containers prepared by conventional blow-molding techniques.